Lion 360 brings visitors new angels to observe lions

‍Instead of lions being trapped in cages and watched by humans, now it’s time for humans to go inside cages in order to look at lions outside. 

Australia’s Monart Zoo launched a new tour program called Lions 360 on Saturday, which offers visitors a 360-degree view of these big cats. Inside the cage-like observing enclosure, visitors can see a lion climbing "above" their heads, hear it roaring right in front of their faces and even feel the cage shaking as the beast plays with its "iron toy".

With absolute safety, Lions 360 aims to give visitors a closer look at nature and Australia’s largest lion prides. It’s a charity program designed to raise money and save lions from extinction in Zambia, in partnership with Painted Dog Conservation Inc. It also has the financial support of both the Government of South Australia and the Australian Government.

Even though the Lions 360 project sounds like a win-win idea to most people, this concept still is opposed by animal protectors, who are against the idea of treating animals as entertainers, according to Mashable. 

"These are wild animals, not entertainers or photo props to be fed for a fee," said Ben Pearson, World Animal Protection's Senior Campaign Manager, in a statement. 

Shark Expeditions/ Photo from WeChat account: Yeoner 

The idea of Lions 360 was initiated by Rodney Fox who was the designer a 360-degree shark observing project called Shark Expeditions. 

He first brought up the idea after he was attacked by a shark in 1963. Similar to Lions 360, Shark Expeditions also protects visitors inside a cage under water, so they can closely interact with sharks.